Carly Patterson Special Section

10:11 AM CST on Thursday, February 3, 2005

By CATHY HARASTA / The Dallas Morning News

The U.S. Olympic Committee named Allen gymnast Carly Patterson its 2004 Sportswoman of the Year on Wednesday, citing her perfomance at the Athens Games in August.

"I had such a great time representing the United States at the Olympics," said Patterson, who became the first American since Mary Lou Retton in 1984 to win the women's all-around Olympic championship. "Everything's been really busy lately."

Swimmer Michael Phelps, who won eight medals in Athens, was named the USOC's Sportsman of the Year. The team award went to the U.S. Olympic Softball Team, dominant in capturing the gold medal at the Games.

Nominations for the awards came from the sports' national governing bodies, with USOC board members and media participating in the voting.

Patterson, a 2003 world champion who also won two silver medals in Athens, said she had not decided on her competitive plans.

"I'm just kind of taking it slow and getting back into shape," said Patterson, who is nursing a back strain suffered during balance beam training.

Patterson, who will turn 17 Friday, was in New York working on a recording project that she described as "pop-rockish."

Her award delighted Evgeny Marchenko, her coach at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Plano.

"It's really a big honor," he said. "There are so many great American athletes."

Smiley N. Pool / DMN

Carly Patterson waves to the crowd during a parade on Sept. 4.

Patterson will attend the American Cup competition in New York later this month. She is the Cup's two-time defending all-around champion. Though she will not compete, she will promote the event and cheer on WOGA's Nastia Liukin of Plano in her senior debut at a major international meet.

Phelps, 19, in his first semester at the University of Michigan, will swim in a meet at Texas on March 4-6. He said he didn't know what to expect after his arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol in November.

"It has been a learning experience and a big mistake that I made," said Phelps, who won six gold medals in Athens. "I am extremely honored to win this award."

He won four individual titles (100-meter butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 individual medley and 400 individual medley) in Athens to match Mark Spitz's individual total.

Mike Candrea, coach of the U.S. Olympic softball team, praised his players

"This team was really remarkable for a lot of different reasons," said Candrea, whose wife, Sue, died July 18 from complications caused by a brain aneurysm.

The United States has captured every gold medal since softball became an official part of the Olympic program in 1996.

E-mail charasta@dallasnews.com